As A Stranger Or A Friend?: The Swallow And The Drowned Sailor

Wilkes - 8 Sun's Dawn, 1246 A.D.

"How is she?"

"Not well." I replied with a troubled sigh before rubbing my face, "She can't remember anything about the attack. None of them can. And she's disturbed by it. So much that she won't even eat."

"I will visit her in the morning and have Walter look in on her later tonight. You must rest too, my dear. Eventually, they will recall what happened and return to their normal selves, but you must be patient. She and the rest have all suffered a great loss, and they are not used to such things the way you are. War prepared you to face situations like these with grace. You must remember that." My mother reassured me, rubbing one of my arms in a comforting way.

"Aye. I suppose so." I coughed a few times and then grimaced.

"I'll call the medic right away and have him prescribe you something. I don't like the sound of that cough." She insisted with a concerned frown.

"It's just slugscale. It'll go away in a few days, Mama, don't worry."

She shook her head and let out a sigh. "You must take better care of yourself, if not for your sake, then for Fay's. She's depending on you, now more than ever."

"I know."

She led me away from the bedroom they'd let Fay and I borrow for our stay and towards the drawing room. That bedroom was one of the more grand rooms in their house, with generous windows that overlooked the sea, not to mention quite a comfortable bed and a large fireplace to keep warm. But as plush as it was, I would not stay there. It was painful to see Fay so confused, even though most in her situation usually were. One might argue, it was normal, even expected, but I still didn't like it. I just had to keep reminding myself that I did what I did to protect her.

If we'd not gone back and things turned sour on the waves, her desire would have been to go down with her ship and crew. She believed there was no more fitting end to a pirate than that, so getting us on land had been my only objective. I'd succeeded by that account but could not have anticipated all that happened after nor how much I would be weakened by it. Still, I didn't regret it, and given the chance, I would do the same thing over again because, despite how horrible things were now, they were better this way.

We entered the drawing room, where I saw my father sitting and nursing a glass of brandy by the fire. He offered me his hand as I approached and squeezed mine tightly when I took it.

"Take heart, my boy. Things will be right again. You'll see."

Somehow his words had the opposite effect, and all I could see in my mind's eye was Fay's broken expression when I'd told her it was all lost.

"Will they?" I asked and unwillingly broke into frustrated sobs, "She won't even look at me!"

"They will, you'll see." He said, hobbling up to his feet, then hugging me tightly, "Rest, tend to her, then make your plans."

"I will." My mouth fell into a fierce frown. I'll kill them all.